


To the Point of Recklessness

by FunnyWings



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Gabriel is awesome, Intrigue, M/M, Post Season 13, Temporary Character Death, ambiguous ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 11:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14873279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunnyWings/pseuds/FunnyWings
Summary: Michael must die, and Castiel has the plan to do it. Written as a sequel to All the Loose Ends.Excerpt:Jack leaves Castiel to his devices, softening at whatever expression he sees on Castiel’s face. Grief, most likely. Grief and regret. If Jack knew the things Cas had done, he might have been more cautious. If he paid more attention, he might have realized before it was too late that Castiel has been drawing a banishing sigil against the wall. All he has time to do is look surprised when Cas tosses Jack a cellphone before hitting his palm hard agains the bloody symbol on the wall.Then Cas calls out into the void, and he calls for Death.“If it isn’t the backstabber himself,” she says. Her voice is as smooth as the edge of a dagger and twice as cutting. Cas doesn’t open his eyes at first. He waits and he plots and he gets every detail straight before he makes his decision. Billie is patient. Death always is.“I want to make a deal."





	To the Point of Recklessness

**Author's Note:**

> In three parts: A Deal, an Execution, and a Revelation

Castiel, angel of the Lord, warrior of God, self proclaimed protector of humanity and whatever other labels you might want to ascribe to him knew several things for certain. One of these things he knew was that trying to do impossible things was both foolish and time consuming. Doing what was unwise but possible had served him- perhaps well isn’t the word. It had served him, and let’s leave it at that.

Which is why, at the end of it all, he abandons the plan he had spent so long working towards. Months of work dashed away with one word.

“No,” says Jack. He’s horrified at the suggestion. Castiel doesn’t blame him. If he could lift the burden from the boys shoulder he would in a heartbeat. If he could take the power to kill Michael—to kill Dean, because Dean is in there too—he would. But Jack is the only one and if he will not-

“Jack, hear me out-“

“Sam said we can figure this out,” said Jack firmly. “You can’t ask me to. I won’t.”

And just like that, all of Cas’ plans are left in tatters, and the desperate beginnings of a new one begin to form and take shape. He promised Dean if things went wrong, he would take care of it. He wouldn’t leave Dean to rot away in his own body as Michael destroyed what he pleased. He isn’t going to break that promise. He might just need to get a little creative.

“If Michael takes another vessel,” says Cas slowly, pressing the archangel’s blade into Jack’s hands. “Please.”

Jack is too clever not to realize that Cas is planning something. He’s much smarter than his father, if still naive in ways that people try to take advantage of. Cas hates to be among the number who would take advantage, but he doesn’t have a choice. Michael must die no matter the cost.

No matter the cost.

“Please,” Cas repeats, drawing into himself and away from Jack. Sam and Mary are abroad, both searching the old world for clues on how to deal with Michael. Pouring through libraries of foreign nations with false credentials and Bobby to lend an air of legitimacy (Bobby knows ten languages, and his Japanese accent is perfect). Cas has been left with Jack, and they do their best to follow news reports in order to get them within range of Michael. Michael remains two steps ahead, always.

Or so he thinks.

Jack leaves Castiel to his devices, softening at whatever expression he sees on Castiel’s face. Grief, most likely. Grief and regret. If Jack knew the things Cas had done, he might have been more cautious. If he paid more attention, he might have realized before it was too late that Castiel has been drawing a banishing sigil against the wall. All he has time to do is look surprised when Cas tosses him a cellphone before hitting his palm hard agains the bloody symbol on the wall.

One minute later, Cas’ phone starts ringing. Cas picks it up.

“Call Sam and stay safe,” Cas says. Then he hangs up. His phone rings again and Cas ignores it. Instead he focuses, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room and calling out into the void where his brothers’ and sisters’ voices should be. He calls, and he calls for Death.

“If it isn’t the backstabber himself,” she says. Her voice is as smooth as the edge of a dagger and twice as cutting. Cas doesn’t open his eyes at first. He waits and he plots and he gets every detail straight before he makes his decision. Billie is patient. Death always is.

“I want to make a deal,” he says. Billie raises an eyebrow at him, incredulous. “I understand you don’t trust me.”

“With good reason,” she says. “Now that we’ve covered the fact that I won’t help you out of the goodness of my heart, let’s hear the terms you have to offer.”

“Things you want,” says Cas. “Michael dead.”

“Who says I want that?”

“He isn’t supposed to be here,” says Cas. “He doesn’t belong here. It’s disrupting everything.”

And yet Death seems unconvinced. This should be enough on its own and Cas is disheartened to see something that should be beneficial to both of the being treated as an unwelcome suggestion. Michael should be in his own universe or dead, and there isn’t anything to argue about there. Why would Death hesitate?

“Anything else?” Billie asks. Cas pushes forward.

“The Michael of our world would be released and take his place in heaven to act as leader of the souls there,” said Cas. “Bound to stay there if necessary. It should help restore balance.”

Billie is still unimpressed. Cas does not like his chances.

“Dean would be freed,” he says. “And I will most likely be dead.”

And of course this would catch her interest. She considers him, her dark eyes giving away nothing now.

“What do you want?” she asks. Castiel feels himself sag in relief.

“A body,” he says. “All I need is a body and a ride out.”

Death is as old as the universe itself. All that has been, she knows. All that will be she can guess. It doesn’t take long for her to realize Castiel’s plan. Her grin of approval is enough to know that he has a chance.

“That can be arranged,” says Billie. “How will you find him?”

Cas grits his teeth. He does not need to find Michael. The archangel is proud, too proud. He will come to Castiel, if Castiel can find the right words. He will come, and he will lose.

“I’ll find a way,” is all Cas says.

*********

Cas does not bother with holy oil, or his blade, or any other form of protection. Michael is more than a match for him, and any method used to slow Michael down could kill Dean without even releasing Michael from his current vessel. Better to stay where he is, in the middle of a field with spring flowers blooming around him. And who said Kansas isn’t beautiful?

“You called?” Michael asks. It’s a show of strength, the way he flexes his wings to flaunt their unbrokenness. He cares nothing for Castiel. He might as well being looking at a mite for all the consideration he gave for Cas’ intelligence and relevance. Michael came not because he cares, but because he can’t let an insult go unchallenged. Cas sits still under Michael’s scrutiny. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You’ve already hurt me,” says Cas. “Leave Dean Winchester’s body.”

“I know what this is,” Michael says. “You think I might be stupid enough to fight you. To give the vessel a reason to fight me. There are ways to hurt you without laying a hand on you. I could break you, Castiel, and as long as you can walk away the Winchester boy won’t lift a finger to stop it. He can’t.”

“I know he can’t,” says Castiel. His voice is calm and if Michael were less proud, he might know to be afraid. Castiel has never been one for false bravado. He is as he knows he is, and even when he does not know himself he knows what he is capable of. “Dean can’t cast you out, but you can’t get rid of him either.”

“Why would I?” Michael asks with a smile. “You won’t kill me as long as he’s in here. None of you will.”

“I would,” says Cas without hesitation. He can almost see Dean behind Michael’s eyes, paying attention. Trying to work out Castiel’s play and keep his calculations from Michael all at the same time. It’s useless, and Michael can see everything Dean is thinking, but Castiel is warmed that Dean is still fighting. Still present and whole enough to live on when this is over. “I’d kill you in a heartbeat.”

“He’d be lost to you,” Michael says.

“He already is,” says Cas, simply. “But seeing as I don’t have the means to kill you…”

“I’m listening,” Michael says, likely out of boredom more than anything else. He watches Cas’ expression with the raptness of a child promised a bedtime story. And perhaps Michael is a child in many ways. More than he would ever admit.

“Take this vessel instead,” says Cas holding his arms open for Michael’s approval. “Dean doesn’t fit you. He never will. You don’t belong in this universe, and you can’t stop him from distracting you. He can’t eject you, but he can slow you down. He has slowed you down.”

There is confusion starting to break on Michael’s face, two flavors of it. One the confusion of the mighty Michael who does not understand Castiel’s offer. Cas is determined that it should stay that way. And then there is Dean’ confusion, breaking the surface and desperate to get Castiel’s attention. Castiel ignored him.

“Why would I switch one unruly vessel for another?” asks Michael.

“This body was built in the Empty. The space between worlds,” says Cas. “It’s not from this universe, so it won’t reject you. And I will leave it, if you leave Dean and you promise not to hurt him in the aftermath.”

And Michael is tempted. Castiel can see it in his calculating smile, the way his eyes take in Cas’ body once more. It’s violating in ways Cas had not expected, but he holds firm. He will hold to his plan, no matter the costs or the discomfort.

“I lose my insurance that you won’t send my brother’s son after me,” Michael says. Castiel swallows and nods. He expected this and yet he hoped to avoid it. It’s unfortunate, but the entire god damned situation is so he plays through it. The slim hope that he would walk out of this room is gone, but he knew how likely this outcome was. He knew and he chose to continue with this plan.

“Don’t tell them I’ve left,” Cas says. “Kill me and keep the secret I’m dead. If you promise not to hurt the Winchesters and Lucifer’s son… this body is yours. They’ll think they can rescue me, and you’ll be in the same place you are now.”

“Your life for his freedom,” says Michael. “And to think I thought this child of Adam’s perversion to be the result of wishful thinking. You’re as lovelorn as he is. I wonder what happened to you, Castiel.”

“Yes or no?”

“I knew your name,” says Michael. “I never met the version of you that was native to my world but I heard stories of your work. You were talented at getting what you wanted. Unparalleled.”

Cas stares at Michael blankly.

“I’m not him,” he says. Michael laughs.

“You are exactly him,” he says. “Down to the foolhardy affection for my enemies. It took a long time to torture that out of you. We broke you piece by piece, starting with Anna. She fell, and you protected her from us. You tried to help her prevent Armageddon from coming to pass with her at your side. You broke even when she wouldn’t.”

Castiel is not unnerved. Everyone breaks, and a dead angel’s sins are no concern of his. He waits for Michael to continue, to try a new strategy, to kill him outright. Michael does nothing.

“Yes or no?” Castiel asks at last. The offer is too tempting. Michael couldn’t have refused if he wanted to, and he agrees with a nod and a flood of light. Just as easily Cas flows into the body Billie had spun for him from the Heaven’s fabric. It isn’t as good as a vessel, really, but it holds him. His brothers and sisters could have made better, but even the few remaining at last count are now dead at Michael’s hand. Only Michael and Jack kept heaven from losing its power completely. Cas prays only that Jack will be enough on his own.

What happens next all happens very quickly.

Billie catches Dean as his knees buckle and he begins to collapse. They are gone before Castiel can blink from his new eyes. The vessel Billie spun for him is shorter than his body was, and bears a striking resemblance to the vessel he had met the angel known as Ambriel in. Cas suspects that was a joke on Billie’s part, as Ambriel had called both herself and Castiel disposable, and here is Castiel… disposing of himself.

Well, Michael would do the disposing.

The archangel wastes no time for once, killing Castiel. Dean’s memory will have been emptied of Castiel and Michael’s deal, and that adds urgency to Cas’ true plan. He can’t allow his family to attempt to reach him and save him from Michael’s clutches, all the while not realizing he is dead. So as he is burned out from the inside, Cas reaches forward and manages to break the skin of Michael’s side with an oddly weighted dagger. It’s barely a prick, and Michael laughs at him as Castiel’s eyes burn out.

Michael does not know that the dagger that scratched him had been modified from his lost lance. the runes faithfully redrawn and the weapon blessed by death herself. It will take hours for Michael to realize the depths of his mistake, and longer for him to die. But as he dies he will know that the he has been outfoxed in every way and he will love at the poetry of it all. Michael does not fear death, for he has done nothing wrong and he will be rewarded for his obedience.

Or so he thinks, anyway.

The Empty is large and presses inwards. It is as comforting as the womb, and Michael sleeps for the first time. He dreams that he will never wake.

**********

Death makes no promises.

Heaven has failed, and billions upon billions of souls have flooded the Veil. It is only a matter of time before they grow angry enough that balance might be restored. Desperate enough to agree to be fed to the Empty, if only to stop themselves from hurting the living.

She wanted a plague. Or at least she knows she needed one to fix the tears in the fabric of reality. Souls could be fed to the Empty to keep it quiet, but Michael had been working too slowly. They might call her cruel, but she can see the bigger picture and she knows how close they are to implosion. Sealing off the cracks is the only way to protect life, not only on Earth, but everywhere.  
Heaven was a cold promise of long lost memories, and Billie thinks there are many who will find relief in sleep. Already the oldest of Heaven’s wards have begun to choose to move on, and reapers bring them by the thousands to the Empty. They are tucked away and comforted with words from long forgotten languages, and they sleep at peace.

Death walks along the fields of the dead. The Empty watches her, awake for the moment. They voices no complaint, having just been fed and fed well. Instead they stretch and manipulate themselves, transforming into a shape that allows her to go where she wants to.

She is hidden from view, but she can see the scene unfold. There are only two awake here besides her and the Empty themself. They sit side by side in an awkward truce. Castiel clutches at his ears, his expression pained.

“It’s Jack,” Castiel tells the man beside him. “He’s calling for me. He’s trying to bring me back.”

“Yeah, he can’t do that,” says Gabriel. “There’s only two things that can, both of which you have royally pissed off. Do you know what shit I had to go through to get on the good side of a fathomless void? Jesus, Cas, haven’t you ever heard that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar?”

“How are you awake?” Cas asks, sullenly ignoring Gabriel’s question.

“I wasn’t always this,” Gabriel says, his body fluctuating from Loki’s face to something much grander. It’s hard to remember sometimes that Gabriel had been beautiful and awe inspiring. Some men go blind looking at angels, but those who can see are left with the image forever etched into their memories and the knowledge they will never see something so incredible again, into perpetuity. Billie is not so easily impressed, but she understands the sentiment. “I used to be a messenger. Trust me when I say, you learn how to get good at putting one word in front of the other in a way that doesn’t insult the people you’re giving messages to. And I’ve had some whoppers to get out in my hey day.”

“So?”

“So, I’ve made myself useful and in exchange I don’t get the crap kicked out of me until I go back to sleep,” says Gabriel. “I soothe the restless with bedtime stories. I play music, I cajole, I do whatever the hell it takes to get the dead to be quiet.”

“He does a good job,” says another voice. Castiel leaps to his feet, ready to fend off the new comer. He freezes as he sees the being’s face.

“Kali?” he asks, hesitantly. It’s wrong, and Cas knows it’s wrong. There is no light coming off of the fire goddess. She is as cold as the rest of the Empty.

“Just a face they think I like,” says Gabriel, holding out his hand and letting the Empty sit next to him. The face changes, now a young Egyptian man who rests his shoulder on Gabriel’s. In the time it takes for Castiel to look away and back again, the Empty becomes Rowena sleeping peacefully with Gabriel’s arms resting around her shoulders. “C’mon, I know you’re thinking it. Gabriel is such a slut. Look at all these pretty faces he’s been into.”

Gabriel wiggles his eyebrows to take the heat out of the word ‘slut’, but Castiel is still affected by it. He obviously is not pleased and Billie smiles to herself at how affronted he looks.

“Why would I think that?” Cas asks, avoiding Gabriel’s eyes. His hands clench together, as there is much he wants to say and little he feels comfortable to. “I’ve never thought there should be morality attached to how many partners humans have. It’s just… it isn’t allowed. Angels aren’t supposed to-”

“Rulebreaker,” Gabe says brightly, pointing towards himself. “And hey, not everyone can say they seduced the Big Empty.”

Annoyed humming fills the void.

“I mean the completely reasonably sized Empty,” Gabe corrects himself. “Endless blankness is in this season.”

More content humming follows after this. Gabe squeezes the Empty who wears Rowena’s face around the shoulders. They nestle closer into his side, and Gabriel begins to spout poetry. It’s elegant, and hard to translate from Enochian, but it has the rhythm and intent of a lullaby. Billie even smiles as she listens to it, because it has all the innocence of a child and it is entirely inappropriate and yet right coming out of Gabriel’s mouth.

“They like it better than the limericks I come up with about porn stars,” says Gabriel. “Who’d’ve thunk? Anyways, Cassie, I’ve spun a way out of this popsicle joint for you, if you want it.”

Cas stares at Gabriel as though waiting for a trap.

“Why?”

“Why? Because I don’t want your fuckwad friends chasing after you,” says Gabriel. “No offense. Jack seems sweet, and Sam has his heart in the right place.”

“And Dean?”

“I think you talk about that idiot enough for the both of us,” says Gabriel. “I’m handling things here. So I figured out a way for you to go home. Or part of you anyway.”

The Empty wakes and shifts, standing in front of Cas wearing the face of Michael’s former vessel. Cas practically growls at them. The Empty smiles back mockingly.

“Stop trying to piss Castiel off,” says Gabriel. “Babe, you gotta get used to the in-laws already. They’re annoying, I know.”

“Excuse me?” Castiel says. Gabriel winks at him, leaving Cas to roll his eyes. “Get on with it.”

The Empty stands in front of him as Rowena again. Instead of the lilting Scottish accent he’s grown used to, it is a hissing spitting tongue. As though English is a foreign and unfortunate language they would rather not be speaking.

“You can leave,” they say. “But you can’t take everything.”

“What does that mean?” Castiel asks. They smile, stepping forward and reaching their hand into Cas’ chest. He does not scream, but Billie can see the pain in his face as two things are pulled from him. His grace, and then a soul. The soul is a small, mutilated thing, but a soul all the same. A miracle really. The two are suspended side by side for Cas’ consideration.

“Choose,” is all they say. Billie steps closer now, no longer hiding but still unnoticed.

“One of those you need,” she says as she steps into Castiel’s line of sight. “And one of them you want.”

If Castiel is surprised to see her, he does not mention it.

“I didn’t ask to be brought back.”

“You didn’t ask to die, either,” says Billie. “And it is long past your time, but I can be flexible if the situation demands it. Your life is intertwined with others, and they have the tendency to be dragged in your wake. There’s more story to play out, and I’d rather cut past the bullshit.”

Billie nods towards Castiel’s essence, his duality. His impossibility.

“I’d bring you back whole, but…” Billie says, trailing off and nodding towards the Empty. “You don’t escape Death twice without paying a price. And you won’t escape a third time at all, not without coming back an empty husk of who you were. Tread lightly from now on.”

“Heaven’s gone, isn’t it?” Cas asks. Too smart for his own good as always.

“Yes. You can’t bring it back, so don’t let that sway your decision,” says Billie. Cas nods and looks at her. His mind is made up and as his hand reaches forward, Billie can’t help but feel pleasant surprise at his choice. “Maybe you aren’t as dumb as you act.”

“Maybe,” is all Cas says. And then he’s gone, melting back into the land of the living.

Billie looks at Gabriel and sits next to him. They survey the boundless void before them.

“Play a song, Messenger,” Billie says. Gabriel takes out a golden kazoo with all possible flourish and shakes it into the shape of a french horn. The notes begin long and mournful and liven as he plays, filling the air with vibrations that echo into infinity. The Empty will never be quiet with Gabriel here, but they do not seem to mind.

The dead sleep peacefully as Gabriel plays on.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is partly a sequel to an earlier story I wrote and partly a way for me to get out a happy ending for Gabriel in which he finds a place he finally belongs in. I've read a lot about him annoying the Empty into being alive again, but I really like the idea instead that Gabriel finds purpose in the Empty that was lacking in life.
> 
> Also bring on the Ghost Apocalypse.
> 
> Let me know what you thought. I always appreciate feedback.


End file.
